Thursday, 12 April 2012

Silent Movie Actress

Silent Movie Actress Biography

Silent star and showgirl Dorothy Elizabeth Sabiston was born on April 26th, 1903 in Birmingham, Alabama, to Robert and Stella Sabiston. By all accounts she had a normal, middle class, happy childhood. Dorothy inherited her mother's talent as an artist and even supported herself during lean times by making portrait sketches. Dorothy left college early, did some modeling, and decided to try her hand at the theater. She was cast in the popular musical stage revue "George White's Scandals", and it was George White who gave her her nickname "Little Alabam", because of her Southern accent. It was during this time she was noticed by an agent and signed under contract to M-G-M. Arriving in Hollywood she had her first screen test with director Henry King, for the film "Sackcloth and Scarlet" (1925). Dorothy won the part. She went on to a number of successful films such as "Our Dancing Daughters" (1928), with Joan Crawford and Anita Page, "Spite Marriage" (1929) with Buster Keaton (no doubt her most challenging role), "A Woman Of Affairs" (1928), opposite Greta Garbo and John Gilbert, and the early successful talkie precode "Our Blushing Brides" (1930).

Dorothy was married three times. Her first marriage took place when she was only 17 years old, a secret marriage to her high school sweetheart Al Stafford. The marriage ended in divorce in 1924. Her second marriage was to actor William Boyd, better known as "Hop Along Cassidy". They were married in 1930 and divorced 6 years later. Her third and final, and by all accounts happy marriage came in 1946 to Herman Shapiro, and they remained married until her death in 1957. She was once engaged to famous film director Clarence Brown. Dorothy continued appearing in talking pictures in supporting roles until 1948.